


Was Justice affected by The Taint?

by Tofiam



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen, Lore - Freeform, The Taint, article, demons and spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3812632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tofiam/pseuds/Tofiam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title says it almost all. Wonderful Anathematixs brought up an idea if it's possible that Justice was turned into Vengeance by The Taint. Let's see... This is my explanation. There is no storyline, this is an essay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Was Justice affected by The Taint?

Let's see... Our beloved warden apostate is kind of unique, so there is not much we can relate to. But we find a few spirit connected beings. Usually when mage merges with a spirit or demon he/she becomes abomination - that freaking drooling twisted kind with too many limbs where none are supposed to be. That's why we look for exceptions.

There's Kieran, but I don't really understand what Kieran is - he's probably just upgraded warden, so I put him aside. Then there are Solas and Flemmeth but they are something else, they are not manifestation of thoughts or deeds as spirits, so off with them too. (They're just a higly skilled mages, more or less.) We can thank Inquisition for Cole - but Cole's not possesing a living body. He's...let say transferred spirit with high adaptation and stolen memories. The closest thing we can get is Wynne. Although I think she never really mixed with a spirit - in a body level. Just with her mind through the Fade connection that mages have. (Same as making a deal with demon for blood magic.) Therefore she remained herself. But remember as she faints from exhaustion? Even Justice couldn't keep dead body from...rotting. And we can't forget about Uldred. That was the finest perfomance of demon mastering a human body. Sadly and luckily, very short one.

**Conclusion 1** : Demon or spirit can dominate a body with flaws, perfection and disorders.

The taint is harder to judge - mostly because it's combination of Chantry myths and darkspawn evolution. (And Corypshit is really not helping about clearing that.) We can state for sure that darkspawns found Old God Dumat, corrupted him with the taint and started The First Blight. It is also widely known that The Taint is...well, tainting and corrupting. Shorting lives of wardens. Twisting creatures into darkspawns. Destroying lands - actually, this can be also a moot point because it just could be a side effect of hordes of genlocks marching and turning fields into a battlefields. It is also said that the taint made a ghoul-like creatures with hive-mind behaviour.

**Conclusion 2** : The taint has an ability to infect and corrupt.

Also, the unforgettable fact is that Justice himself was exposed to the Taint before. He was animating dead body of a warden - Kristoff in Awakening. It's a matter of discusion if Taint can be carry forward without a proper blood flown. Let's say it can be because a blood itself can carry the Taint and there was probably some blood left in Kristoff, if not much.

**Conclusion 3** : Justice was exposed to the Taint before Anders experience.

On the other hand, we know how the spirit becomes the demon. According to Solas, it is possible to misuse its original purpose and turn it. When you deny a spirit its authentic idea, it doesn't know how to react because its mind, deeds and resolutions are determind by the primary emotion or idea. More complicated idea, stonger demon. Same applies to spirits. I bet that Justice and for example Compassion (which is Cole) are considered pretty sophisticated feelings. Demons are also the Fade projection of feelings and deeds, usually those we commonly term as bad. The Chant of Light says that demons were born from jealousy of His first children. Literally, they made themselves demons _because of untouchable emotions_.

**Conclusion 4** : Spirit can be turn into a demon by emotions.

My summary is that The Taint could speed up an effect applied to Justice. Maybe open a way or something like that. But if there was no twisting by emotion of its purpose, nothing would mostly happened. Justice is meant for anyone, not one pointed group. Anders kind of blinded it more than it was. (Which is logical - he's just a human after all, humans are not meant to hold all the world inside.)

Justice originates in Awakening. With circumstances of his rising, he was quite close to Vengeace from the very start. But I think Justice also wears a heavy burden - true stumbling block with Justice is to know where to be satisfied and where to end.

So, sorry to dissapoint, but it was definitelly Anders creating a demon. Although I believe that it was not anger turning Justice into Vengeance, but idealism and naivety.

**Author's Note:**

> You can see the picture which started our convo here: http://anathematixs.deviantart.com/art/Anders-524189567


End file.
